Thursday, December 29, 2005

Oregon Football Loses To Oklahoma

The Oregon football team barely lost the Holiday Bowl tonight. God, I can not even describe how terrible I feel. First of all, the Ducks almost overcame a poor showing in the first half to come back against an Oklahoma team.

Then, after an amazing 4th down conversion, Brady Leaf threw an interception on 1st down of the last drive and the game was over for the ducks. My roommates and I were literally heart broken. Everyone is going to say how Oregon was overrated, but I say screw that. Oregon just did not execute its game plan effectively and killed itÂ’s first half momentum by changing quarterbacks. Excuse me as I go cry...

Either way, cheers to the next year of Oregon Duck Football; I also hope that the basketball can turn the team around! Go Ducks!

Monday, December 26, 2005

Reactions to the new University of Oregon homepage

So at the beginning of Fall Term 2005, the University of Oregon launched a new website redesign. The new homepage features some more descriptive and interactive graphics. It seems to me that the new Oregon page is an attempt at appealing to new students and faculty, whereas the last homepage design catered more to the students. Based on reactions to the new page which I have heard from my peers, I'd say the page isn't being welcomed as administrative officials might have thought.

Although I did not originally like the new page as well, it has grown on me. The old page was so unique to the University of Oregon. What we have now is something much more standard and played out. However, I did say that it has grown on me, and it has. I like the new flash on the welcome screen and the better news feature on the bottom of the page.

As much as I'm starting to accept the new page for what it is, there are some things about it that I just can't seem to get over. I think that the design on the JavaScript drop down menus is terrible. The menus seem to appear out of no where and have nothing to align to.

The other thing that I dislike is that other pages are not being converted to the new format quickly enough. All I want for Christmas is a university website that is unified on all levels. For example, take a look at the Office of the President. See any design differences? Sure you do, the Office of the President page looks like it was made pre-2000. It's not professional, and it's not representative of the University of Oregon. Now take a look at this, I incorporated the information from the Office of the President page into the new format. It took me practically all night, but never the less I did it. Why did I do it? I did it simply to show that pages can and should be updated to the new format. If the university can't allocate resources to updating pages, then they should outsource the work to a design firm. I can think of a few great web design firms that would love the work.

Thursday, December 22, 2005

Sending Flowers To & From Eugene

Well, it's my first blog posting after settling on a blog design that I am fairly happy with. I thought that I would write about something that I knew most about - flowers.

When I was a freshman at the University of Oregon, I started a small florist directory called FloristDEX. The site has grown and grown, from the little baby I once knew into a giant website.

At the Eugene, Oregon florist page on FloristDEX, the information is up to date on all of the major florists in our area. If you are sending flowers this holiday, remember to order early to allow the florist time to prepare.

Decided you want to send flowers but can't decide on an arrangement? Never fear, I can help you. Here are my recommendations from FTD:

Christmas Flowers

The FTD® Lights Of The Season™ Centerpiece

This is just a simple, yet elegant center piecece that is not going to break the bank. If you call one of the local FTD florists in Eugene, you might be able to get tharrangementnt for less money. It's worth a shot!


Hanukkah Flowers

The FTD® Festive Season™ Arrangement

Without a doubt, I have always thought this was one of the best Hanukkah arrangements to send. It's just so simple, yet so beautiful. One look at this bouquet in person and you'll wish you had sent it to yourself.